Signed: A humbled and inspired medical student, learning to listen with both ears and heart. Saffanat Sumra is a student in the School of Medicine.

Originally published in Synapse on September 25, 1986. In a dramatic reversal of last year’s disappointing showing, the School of Medicine enrolled 39 underrepresented minority students this fall. The ...

Young girls are seeing more Barbie dolls on shelves with careers ranging from scientists, future leaders, and astronauts, and imagining a world where they can be limitless in possibilities. However, ...

[First place winner of the Synapse Storytelling Contest for poetry.] Even now, the wake I forget the waves or I... Young girls are seeing more Barbie dolls on shelves with careers ranging from ...

I have never taken a class about the polycrisis, and in fact only recently learned what it is. The polycrisis is what we are living through, the climate crisis and related issues such as war, mass ...

Hunger is a natural part of life, but have you ever stopped to consider why you’re feeling hungry? Understanding the difference between physiological and psychological hunger can help you make more ...

Originally published on September 21, 1995. Among the books that have influenced my thinking are A Handmaid’s Tale and 1984. They both model the future and warn us to be vigilant about how our world ...

After years of internal debate, I finally got my first tattoo. He’s a small lizard, with a topological map design inside, scaling the outer edge of my left ankle. His fine lines and tasteful detail ...

This is part 3 of the limited series on the celebrated haute couture designer, Christian Dior. Christian Dior presented his first haute couture collection, named “Corolle,” in February 1947 at 30 ...

Dr. Bob Wachter, UCSF’s Chair of the Department of Medicine, gained a vast twitter following during the COVID pandemic with his informative, direct, and sometimes personal tweets. He’s kept his ...

Research shows laughter may be more of a social tool than a sign of enjoyment in conversations with strangers. Think of the last time you remember laughing. Maybe it was when you were showing someone ...